1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a dispenser for granular or powdered material for use in storing and releasing free flowing materials such as sugar, salt, soap powder and the like for a variety of household and industrial applications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The dispensation of granulated and powdered dry materials has inherently characteristic problems to which the present invention is addressed. Powdered and granular materials such as soap, sugar, salt, flour, etc. are natural absorbers of moisture in the air. When absorption occurs, the material becomes clumped and/or hard and does not dissolve easily in water or mix well with other ingredients. Clumped material is also more difficult to dispense. Thus, a dispenser for granular or powdered materials is needed which will not clog and will aid in free flowing dispensation.
Another problem associated with dispensing granular and powdered materials is that because such materials are often very free flowing, many dispensers allow for overflow into the receiving container. A dispenser is needed which will regulate the free flow of granulated or powered material into a receiving cup to prevent overflow. There are several prior art references which are known to the applicant which dispense granular or powder materials, however, none of these adequately meet all of the objectives of the present inventions.
For instance known to the applicant is Osfar, U.S. Pat. No. 2,626,089. Osfar discloses a powdered and granulated material container having a spring operated closing valve. The invention discloses a flat plate valve with a spring attachment, but has no mechanism for keeping granular material from clotting.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,767 to Franche VI discloses a dog food dispenser with a sliding gate for regulating the flow of dog food and an extension into its hopper for food agitation. A dog food dish is placed underneath the dispenser and the flow of food is regulated manually. Thus there is potential for dispensing food to overflow from the receiving container as food flows continuously until the sliding gate is manually closed.
Also known to the applicant is Orton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,442. Orton discloses a household liquid dispenser which utilizes a spring loaded sliding gate to dispense liquid from a hopper. The hopper has a release hole in the bottom, which is opened and closed by the sliding gate. As an extension from the sliding plate is depressed, a channel within the sliding plate is aligned with the release hole in the bottom of the hopper. Liquid enters the channel and travels downward to a dispensing spout also aligned with the channel at its lower end. This apparatus is only useful for extremely free-flowing materials such as liquid due to its path of dispensation which is partially horizontal. As more liquid is dispensed into the channel, liquid in the dispensation channel is forced onward.
Similar to Orton, but more appropriate for powder dispensation, is the spring activated tooth powder dispenser shown in Stone, U.S. Pat. No. 2,556,826. Stone discloses a toothbrush inserted in a channel. The toothbrush is pressed against a spring activated sliding plate. Tooth powder is dispensed onto the toothbrush by gravity through a dispensing channel opened and cleared by a hole in the sliding gate. In order to continue dispensation, pressure must be maintained against the sliding gate. The hopper has no means of preventing clotting or clumping of the material contained within the hopper.
Kaanehe, U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,958, discloses a dry product dispenser having a hopper and funnel for dispensation blocked by a spring loaded sliding valve. The valve must be held open manually in order to dispense material. No means is included to break up clotted material before dispensation.
No prior art is known that meets all of the objectives of the present invention, that is, to provide a dispenser for granular or powdered dry materials in a free-flowing manner, which has the combined features of providing a means for preventing clumping of the material inside the hopper, avoiding overflow of the material in the recipient container and is cheap to manufacture, due to a simple design and a minimal number of parts.